Calgary Confederation

Created in the 2012 redistribution from portions of the former Calgary Centre-North, Calgary West, and Calgary—Nose Hill ridings, Calgary Confederation sits in the northern half of the city between the Bow River to the south and McKnight Boulevard to the north, bounded by Sarcee Trail to the west and Deerfoot Trail to the east. The riding encompasses established suburban neighbourhoods including Huntington Hills, Beddington Heights, Varsity, and Silver Springs, along with newer communities to the northwest.

Candidates

Len Webber (Conservative) — A former Progressive Conservative member of the Alberta Legislature, Webber represented the provincial riding of Calgary-Foothills from 2004 to 2014 and served as Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Minister of International and Intergovernmental Affairs. In March 2014, he left the provincial PC caucus to sit as an independent in protest against the leadership of Premier Alison Redford before seeking the federal Conservative nomination.

Matt Grant (Liberal) — A lawyer who had practiced corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions law at the Calgary firm Burnet, Duckworth and Palmer, Grant also served as executive assistant to provincial Liberal MLAs Craig Cheffins and Kent Hehr. A resident of West Hillhurst and director of his community association, he ran an energetic campaign that attracted significant Liberal resources and a campaign visit from leader Justin Trudeau.

Kirk Heuser (NDP) — Heuser represented the NDP in a riding where the party sought to capitalize on the momentum of the spring 2015 Alberta provincial NDP victory.

Natalie Odd (Green Party) — Odd carried the Green Party banner, championing environmental policy in a riding with extensive urban green spaces.

Kevan Hunter ran for the Marxist-Leninist Party.

About the Riding

Calgary Confederation is predominantly residential and suburban, with established neighbourhoods built from the 1960s through the 1990s mixed with newer developments on the city's expanding northern edge. The riding includes significant green space, including portions of Nose Hill Park, one of the largest urban parks in Canada at over 11 square kilometres of native fescue grassland. The University of Calgary campus sits within the riding, and its presence gives the Varsity and Brentwood neighbourhoods a university-town character. The riding's residents are ethnically diverse, with growing South Asian, Filipino, and Chinese communities alongside longer-established populations. Many residents commute to downtown Calgary or to energy-sector offices along the Deerfoot corridor. The oil price downturn that began in late 2014 had a direct impact on household incomes in the riding, as layoffs in the energy sector rippled through the local economy. Federal issues in the 2015 campaign included economic diversification, support for families affected by the downturn, transit expansion — particularly the proposed Green Line LRT — and infrastructure investment for aging suburban neighbourhoods.